Pilbara rents rise after post mining boom slump

The cost of renting a home in Port Hedland jumped almost 10 per cent last year — the biggest increase anywhere in WA, according to new rental data.

Property website rent.com.au has released figures showing the average weekly rent in the Pilbara mining town was up from $400 a week in January to $438 by the end of last year.

Rent.com.au chief executive Greg Bader said the increase could indicate the market had bottomed out after crashing at the end of the iron ore mining construction boom.

“There is some recovery there but it is a long way from where it was,” he said.

“I don’t think anyone expects it to get back to the crazy days of thousands of dollars per week.”

Crawford Realty agent Erika Maylam said in the past six months there had been steep rent increases in Port Hedland.

Ms Maylam said in one recent case, a four-bedroom, three-bathroom property was re-listed and rented at $750 a week, after earning the owner just $380 a week in recent years.

“I don’t think anyone wants the prices to go back to where they were because they were entirely inflated figures and we were in a false economy to a point,” she said. “But if we are getting increases of $120 to $150 it will help owners who have really been struggling over the past 12 months.”